Device for piling up preformed binder and/or wrapper leaves for cigars, cigarillos, or bunches thereof



Oct. 6, 1953 c. VAN BUUL 2,654,369

E. W. DEVICE FOR FILING UP PREFORMED BINDER AND/OR WRAPPER LEAVES FOR CIGARS. CIGARILLOS, OR BUNCHES THEREOF Filed Jan. 51, 1950 Patented Oct. 6, 1953 DEVICE FOR PILING UP PREFORMED BINDER AND/OR WRAPPER LEAVES FOR CIGARS,

CIGARILLO'S,

BUNCHES THEREOF Everardus W. C. van Buul, Eindhoven, Netherlands, assignor to dustrien Mignot erlands N. V. Vereenigde Tabaksin- & De Block, Eindhoven, Neth- Application January 31, 1950, Serial No. 141,371

In the Netherlands March 3, 1949 4 Claims.

The invention relates to a device for piling up preformed binder and/or wrapper leaves for cigars, cigarillos or bunches thereof.

In machines for making bunches, cigarillos or cigars the binder leaf or the wrapper leaf is usually picked up from a cutting matrix and brought into a rolling mechanism having rollers or a rolling apron. This transport of the tobacco leaf is efiected by a holder provided with a suction head or other holding means.

It has not yet been proposed to cut the binder and the wrapper leaves out of tobacco leaves in quite another part of the factory, to pile the preformed binder or wrapper leaves up in a magazine and to put the filled magazine in the machine for making the bunches, cigarillos Or cigars.

This is due to the fact that hitherto it was not possible using a suction or leaf adhering holder to transfer the leaves with certainty one after the other from the pile contained in the magazine to the rolling mechanism. The difficulty is that tobacco leaves are moist and stick together and that many of the leaves have holes so that leaves lying beneath the uppermost leaf are taken up together with the said uppermost leaf.

The invention has for its object the avoidance of the difliculties met with in transferring a preformed binder or wrapper leaf from a magazine, and thus to permit the use of magazines filled with binder and/or wrapper leaves in bunch or cigar making machines. In essence, it involves locating the leaves that are placed into a magazine one upon the other crosswise in at least two predetermined directions.

The invention also relates to a magazine for a pile of preformed binder and/or wrapper leaves, said magazine having parts for the lateral confinement of the pile of leaves and said parts permitting said leaves to be placed one upon the other crosswise in at least two predetermined directions only. It has been found that if the leaves lie crosswise one upon the other they cover each other so slightly that the suction head or other holding means of the leafholder picks up the uppermost leaf of the pile only.

Advantageously, a device is used which is provided with means for the rotary or oscillatory support of the magazine and with a driving mechanism adapted to rotate or oscillate the magazine periodically through an angle or angles equal to the angle or angles between the predetermined directions in which the leaves are permitted to lie in the magazine. In such an arrangement the suction head or the other holding means of the leafholder need not be rotated 2 I intermittently or be oscillated to pick up the leaves out of the magazine. In order to facilitate the picking up operation the magazine may be provided with a vertically movable bottom plate,

According to the invention a device for filling a magazine for a pile of preformed binder and/or wrapper leaves lying crosswise one upon the other may be provided with one or more movable leafholders adapted to transport the leaves one after the other from a support, e. g. a cutting matrix to a place above or in themagazine, and may be so constructed, that each time, after a leaf has been delivered into the magazine, the latter will be rotated through a predetermined angle.

The invention also provides a device for taking periodically a leaf out of a magazine and consists of one or more movable leafholders adaptedto take the leaves one after the other out of said; magazine and to transport them to a place, e. g. a rolling mechanism, where they are used for making bunches, cigarillos or cigars. Said device is so constructed that each time, after a leaf has. been taken out of the magazine, the latter -.isrotated through a predetermined angle. In this device stop members are provided which are disposed between the leafholder and the magazine, said stop members permitting the leaves to be picked out .of the magazine in only one-prede termined position, and those leaves that .7 are oriented at an angle to this position will abut the stop and thus be held in the magazine when the uppermost leaf is taken out; A stop member may, for example, constitute a fixed plate having an elongated aperture the size and form of which picked out"v corresponds to that of the leaf to be of the magazine.

The invention permits the picking up'of a binder leaf and a wrapper leaf alternately out of one and the same cross-shaped magazine and thereby permits the construction of machines for making cigars consisting of a filler, a binder and a wrapper in a relatively simple way. I

For the elucidation of the invention reference is made to the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a magazine according to the invention,

Fig. 2 is a ing to Fig. 1,

Fig. 3is a plan view of a magazine of a differ-.

a device for periodically taking a binder or a plan View of the magazine accord.

shaped space. The side walls serve for the lateral confinement of a pile of binder and/or wrapper leaves 2, contained in the magazine, in which pile said leaves lie crosswise one upon the other. It a will be obvious that by this manner or piling up I the leaves the areas with which successive leaves contact each other are as small as possible.

The magazine I is rotatably supported about a vertical axis by a fixed support '3. It is ada ed to be oscillated through an angle of 90 by means of a rod 4 which, at one end, is coupled with an arm 5 secured to the magazine (Fig. 49. and at the other end is connected to a lever "I which is rotatably supported about a shaft 6. The lever 1 is held in contact with a cam disc 9 by a spring 8. The cam disc is mounted on a shaft I and i's'so shaped that during each revolution of shaft Iflf the magazine I remains during a short time in one end position and during a short time in the other end position. Provided in the magazine is a bottom plate I I on which the preformed tobacco leaves are piled up. This plate is attached to a vertical rod I2 passed through the bottom of the magazine I and adapted to be moved up and down by means of a lever "I4 rotatably supported about a shaft 13. The lever I4 is kept in contact with a cam disc I-6 mounted on a shaft I1 by means of a spring I (Fig. 5).

The preformed tobacco leaves may be placed,

instead of crosswise, the shape of a v or of another open geometrical figure or in the shape of a triangle or another closed geometrical figure one upon the other. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a magazine in which the tobacco -leaves lie one upon the other according to a quadrangle.

Fig,- 4 illustratesdiagrammatically a device for filling the magazine according to Figs. 1 and 2 with preformed leaves and also shows how the magazine is oscillated periodically between two end positions. In this filling device the mechanis'm 'l3, I4, I5, I6, I1 for moving the bottom plate II -up and down according to Fig. 5 is omitted. During the filling operation the bottom plate I] remains at the bottom of the magazine. The filling operation itself is carried out by an oscillatory holder 19 which has a head 20 and is rotatably mounted on 'a shaft I8. This head is, a manner well known and therefore not shown, connected to a suction pipe and'pro'vided with a perforated lower surface for holding a picked up tobacco leaf. The suction head .20 is oscillated.batsmenv the magazine I and a cutting matrix 2!, well;

known the art. In order to obtain the oscillating movement of the leaf holder the arm I9 is connected by a link 22 to a lever 23, which is also rotatably supported about shaft 6. The lever 23 is held by a spring 24 in contact with a double cam 25 mounted also on shaft ID. The cam 25 is so shaped that, during each revolution of' shaft II], the leafholder I9, 20 oscillates one time. A tobacco leaf is placed by hand on the cutting matrix 21 and by means of rollers, known per se and therefore not shown, a wrapper or a binder leaf is cut out from said tobacco leaf.

After this cutting operation the suction head 20 is brought above the cut out binder or wrapper leaf, so that this leaf is drawn by suction against the perforated surface of the suctio'nhead 20. thereupon; the suction head is movedto a position vertically above the magazine 1, which at this time is in one end position. In order to have the leaf dropped from the suction head into the magazine, the suction is neutralised by closing the suction pipe. After having dropped the leaf the suction head 20 is returned tothe cutting matrix 2| on which, in the meantime, another binder or wrapper leaf has been out out. During the return movement of the suction head the magazine is rotated through an angle of If thereafter the suction head is returned to the magazine :it will drop the held leaf crosswise on the uppermost leaf contained in the magazine. During the next movement of the suction head to the cutting matrix the magazine is rotated back through an angle of 90, etc. This operation is repeated till the magazine is completely filled.

The machine diagrammatically shown in Fig. 5 adapted to make bunches, cigarillos or com- Dlete cigars and is provided with a leafholder 21 in which a partial vacuum is kept up and which is supported by arotary shaft 26.. The lower surface of the suction head is perforated, so that, it is permitted to take a wrapper or a binder leaf 2 out of the magazine I by suction and to transport said leaf to a rolling mechanism consisting of a number of parallel rollers 28. Each time that the perforated area of the suction head is brought into the position vertically above the magazine I, the bottom plate II (Fig. 1') is released by the cam disc I6 permitting the pring I5 to lift said plate and press the pile of binder or wrapper leaves '2 against the suction head 21,. Mounted between the suction head 21 and the upper edge-of the magazine I is a plate 30 (Fig. 6) having an aperture 3| the shape of which corresponds to that of a binder or a wrapper leaf. In the machine according to Fig. 5 the magazine I is periodically oscillated'through an angle of 90 in the manner as is, shown in Fig. 4, relating to the filling device, so that alternately a leaf lying in one position and the next 'leaf lying in, the other position in the magazine are brought into the right position to be taken up'b y the suction head 2]. Only if a leaf be brought into the said right position, will the aperture 3| in the fixed plate 30 permit a leaf to pass. The

leaf which lies under the uppermost leaf in the,

magazine is directed at right angles to the uppermost leaf and the aperture Si in plate 39, so that it cannot be taken out of the magazine together with said uppermost leaf and hence all but the top leaf of the leaves is held in the magazine, Consequently, the plate 30 prevents the suction head 21 of the leafholder from taking u more than one hinder or wrapper leaf simultaneously. Instead of a plate, other stop members, e. g, two p a l r ds, may be u d for holdin the pile in the magazine.

The magazine may be alternately filled with a Wrapper l af d a bin er leaf,- It is not .neces sary'that the leaves piled up crosswise be oriented at right angles. Also, other an le may be us d, so that the leaves may cross each other in more than two different directions. Further, if the wrapper leaves 01' the binderleayes havea diam trically symmetrical hape the ma azin need no o be oscillated about its axis. but it may be intermit ently rotated in on an the same direction through angles, say of 90.

What I claim is;

1. A tobacco leaf holder and transfer device comprising a frame, a receptacle rotatably mounted in the frame, said receptacle being cruciform in shape in horizontal cross-section and having a bottom provided witha bearing opening, a plate positioned above said bottom, a rod secured to the plate and extending through the opening, a lever pivoted on the frame, a cam positioned on an axis parallel to the axis of the lever pivot and capable of rotation, the exterior surface of the cam at all times being in contact with the lever, resilient means retaining the lever in engagement with the cam, and means at the end of the rod connected to the lever, whereby actuation of the lever will cause reciprocation of the rod and an oscillatable suction device for removing top leaves one at a time from the receptacle, the oscillatable suction device and the reciprocatable rod being so synchronized that the instant suction is applied to the top leaf, the supporting plate will be moved away from the bottom of the receptacle.

2. A tobacco leaf holder and transfer device comprising a frame, a receptacle rotatably mounted in the frame, said receptacle being cruciform in shape in horizontal cross-section and having a bottom provided with a bearing opening, a plate positioned above said bottom adapted to support a plurality of tobacco leaves contained in said receptacle in cross-wise arrangement, a rod secured to the plate and extending through the opening, a pivoted lever arranged to move said rod upon movement of said lever, a rotatable cam having an exterior surface engageable with said lever, resilient means retaining the lever, said cam being adapted to cause said lever to pivot in a predetermined circle whereby to effect reciprocation of said rod, and an oscillatable suction device for removing top leaves one at a time from the receptacle, the oscillatable suction device and the reciprocatable rod being so synchronized that when suction is applied to the top leaf the supporting plate will press the top leaf against the suction device.

3. A tobacco leaf holder and transfer device as defined in claim 2, further comprising means for rotating said receptacle through a predetermined angle upon movement of said suction device.

4. A tobacco leaf holder and transfer device comprising a frame, a receptacle mounted in said frame for rotation about a vertical axis and adapted to hold a pile of preformed oblong tobacco leaves, said receptacle including means defining a space which is cruciform in shape in horizontal cross section and has two intersecting storage areas adapted to receive the leaves of said pile with their longitudinal axes in alternate cross-wise relationship, a movable leaf carrier mounted in said frame, said leaf carrier being in the form of a suction device for removing top leaves one at a time from the receptacle, means for effecting relative movement between said leaf carrier and said receptacle, and means for periodically rotating said receptacle through an angle equal to the angle included between the longitudinal axes of the two intersecting storage areas of the receptacle, said receptaclerotating means being synchronized with the movements of the movable leaf carrier, whereby each of the intersecting storage areas is alternately brought into cooperation with said leaf carrier.

EVERARDUS W. C. VAN BUUL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

